1. Field
Disclosed herein is a concrete mass auger feeder for use in the slipform casting of concrete elements. More specifically, disclosed herein is a solution used in the attachment of an auger feeder, as well as to a method of manufacturing such an auger feeder.
2. Description of Related Art
The process of casting concrete products by extruder type slipform casting involves feeding concrete mass from the concrete mass hopper of a slipform-casting machine on top of auger feeders, said auger feeders conveying concrete mass under pressure into a delimited cross-section established by a casting bed, sidewalls advancing along with the casting machine, together with a vibrator beam defining the top surface of a product being cast, i.e. into a slipform-casting mold. The slipform-casting mold defines a product to be cast in terms of its cross-sectional shape. The concrete mix under pressure, fed into a slipform-casting mold, is compacted for example by a vibrating and/or reciprocating motion of the sidewalls and the vibrator beam, as well as by a reciprocating motion of the auger feeder in addition to a rotary motion of the auger feeder responsible for feeding the mass. In the process of casting concrete products with hollow cores by slipform casting, behind the auger feeders are added hollow-core forming members or hollow-core mandrels. As slipform casting progresses, the slipform-casting machine advances along a casting bed in response to a reaction force resulting from the feeding of concrete mass by the auger feeders, which advancement of the slipform-casting machine can be accelerated or decelerated as necessary by means of a drive motor of the slipform-casting apparatus. As the slipform-casting machine advances, the cast product remains on the casting bed for hardening and curing prior to its possible cutting for defined-length blocks and replacement to storage.
Auger feeders can also be used in slipform-casting machine types other than extruder types, where the auger feeders can enhance the feeding of concrete mix, for example at a specific feeding stage.
At present, auger feeders are usually attached by way of flanges fixed to a shaft rotating the auger feeder and to the auger feeders. These flanges are fastened to each other by screws extending through unthreaded holes existing in the flanges. An established approach with these attachments is to weld the screw heads securely to the flange in an effort to ensure the durability of the auger feeder attachment in use.